


Absent

by starryeyedboxes



Category: Septiplier - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4025545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedboxes/pseuds/starryeyedboxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's been gone for a long time and he's returned home. But for how long?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absent

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested by an anon on my tumblr, so I hope that you enjoy! Sorry if some of you on here already read it on my tumblr and saw I posted this on here. I tend to do it on both sites.  
> But my tumblr is starryeyedboxes if you haven't already followed me!

A quiet rapping echoed through the young man’s room, the room surrounded in complete darkness. When he pulled out from a heavy slumber, his hand rubbed his scruff on his defined chin and he slowly opened his eyelids. He was still for a few moments as his eyes adjusted to the murkiness that enveloped the entire atmosphere around his tired body. His eyes finally opened all the way and he tossed over in bed again, staring at the wall in front of him. What was that noise? Was he just imagining things?

The man sat up, his blanket still wrapped around his waist then rubbed his deep brown eyes before looking at the clock next to his glasses on the nightstand. 2:39AM. Another knock sounded through the still air and he let out a small smile, realizing exactly who it would be.

He quickly got out of bed and when he pulled back the curtains, he was greeted with a lovely view of his Irish visitor leaning on his railing, the moon illuminating very little outside. When he slid open the glass door, he stepped outside, feeling the crisp air against his warm skin. It was a wonderful night tonight and he took a long inhale as he soaked in all the sharp oxygen that filled his lungs.

“Hey, Mark,” the Irishman grinned, his eyes half lidded as he watched his the man known as Mark lean forward on the railing, his elbows resting on top of the black metal. “It’s been a while.”

“It has,” he cast a side glance at his guest and gave a striking but subtle smile. “When was the last time I saw you, Jack?”

“Mmm,” he hummed as he inched closer to Mark, their hips lightly brushing against each other. While the man with brown eyes was sporting loose boxers on his delicate hips, the visitor sported black jeans and a red hoodie. Mark watched as Jack pulled a grey beanie lower on his head as he thought. “At least four months. How are ye?”

“Good,” he sighed into the refreshing night air, his breath forming white clouds around him. “Just doing the school thing, I guess.” He peered out into the street, noting how quiet everything was. Not a single car drove by nor was there a dog barking or a person quietly walking on the sidewalk out front. It was so peaceful.

“You were always studious,” the brunette laughed as he mimicked Mark’s pose and followed his gaze to the empty neighborhood. “It’s so good to hear your voice again.”

“Wanna come inside?” The American asked as he stepped back towards his glass door. “The cold doesn’t feel so good anymore.”

The two entered the bedroom and Jack looked around with curious blue eyes, his gaze capturing every item in his environment. Things looked exactly the same as when he saw them last. With half-lidded eyes, he sighed when he fell backwards onto the host’s bed and sunk into the immense warmth. When he buried his face into the covers, he almost felt his throat tighten up with sorrow as his eyes stung slightly. It had been far too long since he had been here and the scent of his companion was almost too much.

Mark sensed the change in mood and crawled into bed as well and held his Irish visitor with strong arms as Jack silently wept into his shoulder. “This is a first,” he whispered against his guest’s brown hair. “You never cry when we reunite. It’s normally me who does.”

The younger of the two let out a soft laugh that was muffled by Mark’s body and sighed. “I know. Funny how that works.”

Mark held him for a while, whispering sweet and comforting words to help his companion calm down. It was almost four in the morning by the time the Irishman was able to breathe normally and the two fell back into the sheets, entangled in the other’s presence.

“It’s nice to be back,” Jack sighed as he pressed his face into the American’s chest, his warm body heat mixing with Mark’s. “It seems more of a dream than reality.”

“I’m glad you’re back, though,” Mark noted softly, his eyes shut lightly. “I can barely stand being away from you for so long.”

Nuzzling his face against his companion, Jack bit back tears again, his eyes already tired from the first round. He focused on the still air for a while before he was able to speak normally again. “I know. I’m not back for long, though. I do have to leave in the morning.”

The Irishman immediately felt the older man’s body tense up as the grip around Jack’s body loosened ever so slightly. He quickly knew he had upset Mark and he felt terribly guilty for it. It was always like this, travel for a few months, sneak into his boyfriend’s parent’s house, then depending on how long he was able to stay, they would spend every second together until he soon left. He was never back in their hometown for more than two weeks, but unfortunately this one had to be cut incredibly short. Jack was only in town for the night.

“Oh.”

“Sorry,” the Irishman muttered somberly. “My flight to India leaves at nine in the morning, so I have to be out of here by eight.” When he didn’t feel Mark’s embrace return, he sighed. “I’m really sorry.”

“No, no,” and at that, the raven-haired host rolled over so their foreheads pressed against each other in the darkness. “Don’t worry. We’ll make do with what time we do have. I support you in your travels, you know. I can’t be selfish and ask you to stay.”

Tears welled up in Jack’s eyes once again, completely overwhelmed with his lover’s compassion and undying support. How did he ever get so lucky? Not only was Mark incredibly beautiful, he was pursuing biomedical engineering in college (which ultimately was the reason he didn’t travel with Jack), and he supported him in everything he did, no matter the cost. He did everything wordlessly and without argument.

“I’m incredibly sorry, ye doof,” the younger of the two said with a slight playful tone. The brown-eyed man wiped away the tears with his thumb, making sure that the beautiful blue orbs he adored so much were as dry as they could be. “You’re too good for me, you know.”

“Shut up,” Mark warned politely. “You know I hate when you say that.”

But it’s true, the brunette wanted to say. But he knew better.

“I promise that by the end of the year, I’ll come back to get you, okay? I’ll come to your graduation and whisk ye off to Ireland! Then we can travel together for a bit, and then I promise we’ll be able to settle down for good. I just need to do this. For myself.”

Placing a tender kiss on his boyfriend’s lips, Mark smiled softly into it. When he pulled away, he kissed the Irishman’s forehead then rolled over so Jack could hold him in his arms. “I know. We just need to make it through until then.”

Snuggling up to the American’s back, Jack sighed into his thick hair, his arms wrapped tightly gripping his boyfriend’s naturally built body. He loved this feeling more than anything in the world. The two of them engulfed in each other, their breaths in perfect synchronization, and the darkness blocking out anything in the world that would disrupt their little bubble. Inhaling the lovely scent of Mark drove him mad and he knew how much he loved this man with every fiber of his being. He just fact to him. I love Mark. I love Mark. There was never a truer statement.

His eyes began drooping, sleep wanting to pull him over. It angered him how tired he was because it meant that this slumber would take away precious time from their short reunion. But when he felt his boyfriend drift off to sleep, his body slacking slightly, he knew he should too. It had been so long since Jack had fallen asleep with his lover.

He drifted off into what felt like a dreamless sleep.

~

When Mark woke up, he looked at the clock and saw it was already noon. Stretching his body underneath the blankets, he rolled over and when he saw his bed was empty, a part of him believed last night was purely a dream. It was like Jack had floated in and just left like a dainty feather riding on the wind. He was gone, just like that.

He flopped over onto his back and glanced at the ceiling, his thoughts filled with thoughts of his brilliant blue-eyed companion as heavy rain tapped against his window. There was barely any light sneaking through the curtains and Mark realized that it must have been raining all morning. The tapping of the thick rain reminded him of Jack’s visit last night as he tapped on his balcony doors.

The past three years had been awfully rough as he was left behind while his partner traveled the world, eager to learn what was out there. Mark had the opportunity to come, but he wanted to follow his dreams of being a biomedical engineer, which meant going to school as soon as possible. But a part of him wished he had just dropped everything, pushed off college like Jack, and just traveled with him.

It definitely would have saved him so many endless nights alone. Jack had been traveling since they both graduated high school together, and it surprised Mark that they were in fact together for so long. He didn’t expect his sanity to hold on for this lengthy time, but he so desperately loved his boyfriend and wanted to support him fully. So he did.

He just wished that Jack wouldn’t take off so quickly after coming back home. I mean, one night? Mark questioned internally. It’s been so long and he just took off?

A door opening snapped him out of his daze and he looked towards his connected bathroom. The young Irishman walked out in one of Mark’s shirts, looking down at it with a small smile. Surprised, the American panicked and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. When he didn’t feel the bed shift, he peeked out from his right eye and caught his boyfriend looking around the room thoughtfully.

“I really love it here,” Jack muttered to himself as he spun around slowly, looking at every single item in the room. His eyes glazed over to a picture frame that always hung on Mark’s wall that showed the two of them on prom night, both looking quite handsome in their black suits. “Wow.”

Rolling over as silently as possible, the host gained better view of the Irishman wandering around. His brown eyes followed closely, wondering why Jack was in fact still here. A deep blush creeped up on his cheeks as he saw his boyfriend in full view, standing in nothing but his boxers and Mark’s favorite shirt. He looked immensely adorable, the raven-haired man noted.

“I know you’re awake,” Jack laughed, his back still facing his lover. He walked over to Mark’s bookshelf and ran his index finger over the spines, pulling out a book he always loved to read when he came to visit. “I felt you watching me when I walked out of the bathroom.”

“You’re crazy,” the American muttered as he rubbed his scruffy chin embarrassingly. “That’s not true.”

Jack walked over, still looking down at the book and crawled back into bed. “Morning,” he whispered and planted an endearing kiss on Mark’s soft lips. He kissed back delicately, his heart content with the situation at hand. It was lovely to actually get to wake up to his boyfriend for the first time in months. “It’s raining hard out today.”

“Is that why you stayed?” The older man questioned, wrapping his arms around the Irishman happily. “Was your flight cancelled?” Either way, he could have decided to stay home because he wanted Mark to make him breakfast for all he cared. He just knew that he got an extra day, and that was one more than he was granted last night.

“No,” Jack hummed, his blue eyes glinting with a sly gleam. “I decided to cancel the trip.”

“Hm?”

Watching him open the book, Mark knew exactly what it was without even looking at the cover. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Everyone had to read it during school but for some reason, Jack loved that book more than anything. It was always in his hands when he came to visit home, and if Mark was honest with himself, he mostly kept it around because of his boyfriend. He even grew to love it himself since the Irishman had such a deep fondness over the characters.

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay,” he mumbled, leaning his head on Mark’s shoulder again, sinking into his strong embrace. “I’m sure the flight was cancelled anyway, but I decided that I was going to stay home longer anyway.”

“Won’t you waste your money?” The American questioned into Jack’s soft brown hair. “I’m sure the trip was expensive.”

“If I don’t use my ticket, they let me have it for the next year. I can use it any time until the year is up, so that’s cool.”

“Well,” Mark verbally nudged, the dreaded question floating about in his head. “When are you leaving again?”

There was silence between the couple for a bit, the only sound being the tick-tacking of the rain on the roof and windows. There was a low, natural light that streaked into the room, but the entire atmosphere seemed gloomy nonetheless despite the happy surprise the American woke up to this morning. He watched his lover turn a page of the book, a serious look on his face. He looked like he was concentrating a little too hard, almost as if he was debating something in his head.

What came out of Jack’s mouth surprised Mark entirely.

“I’m going to stay for the rest of your semester,” he nodded, his bottom lip in between his teeth. The younger man yelped as the book was thrown from his grasp and he was practically thrown over Mark’s body, his chest pressing hard against his boyfriend’s chest. He looked down into Mark’s deep eyes and felt a wave of relief wash over as he saw the tears begin to pour down. Wiping his thumb across his lover’s cheeks, Jack gave a soft expression.

“You mean it?”

“Of course,” he whispered and leaned in for a small peck, but was taken by surprise when Mark pulled him in for quite a rough and sloppy kiss. When they pulled apart a few minutes later, both were panting and grinning messily. It made Jack’s heart swell when he saw that his boyfriend was still a little teary-eyed.

“What made you decide to change your mind?”

“I couldn’t just leave you here alone anymore,” the younger one said softly, his voice calm and leveled. “This has been going on for years. You’ve supported me endlessly and here I was, just running off while you were here.”

Mark’s hands were on Jack’s hips and he felt them tighten with the older one’s next words. “You know that I support you on your journeys-”

The Irishman held a hand up quickly, his body still on top. “I know, I know. And that’s what made me realize I also need to support you in what you’re doing. You’re studying to be what you want to be, and I’ve been absent from most of your progress. I need to be here.” After giving another kiss to his boyfriend, Mark sighed and wiped away the tears again, looking hazily into those amazing blue eyes. “And besides, I promised you that when you graduated, we’d travel together, right?”

The brown-eyed man nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah.”

“Well, why don’t I just wait until then? We can both go to India as your graduation gift! I know it was rough being here by yourself while I was seeing everything, so it makes sense to just go together. You and me.”

Another wave of tears fell from Mark’s red eyes and he held his boyfriend even tighter, his grip almost suffocating. But Jack didn’t object as he felt warm drops fall from his very own face, the two men rejoicing together. The weather may have been gloomy and depraving, but the couple inside felt much better than the atmosphere outside.

They were reunited again, and this time, it would be permanent.


End file.
